CiC Meets SGC
by Michael Weyer
Summary: O'Neil has to brief the first female President about the Stargate. Xover with Commander in Chief. All comments welcomed!
1. Chapter 1

CiC meets SGC

By Michael Weyer

Stargate owned by MGM.

Commander in Chief owned by ABC.

Frankly, I'm surprised no one's done this before. Sure, there have been other stories with this basic plot but I thought it might be more unique to show it for this particular President. All comments are welcomed.

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Jim Gardner had been through a lot in the last few months. It was always a turning point when a President died and the VP had to take over. Considering the fact that the new President was a woman, well that made things more unique. Adding on the fact that she was an independent, that just compounded the problems. It was a historical fact that the President always had to get into fights with members of the opposite party. In this case, however, Mackenzie Allen had to fight _both _parties, which made handling affairs even harder.

As the Chief of Staff, it was Gardner's job to make sure things in the White House ran as smoothly as possible. The transition to the Allen administration hadn't been easy to say the least. Multiple resignations, including the White House Press Secretary, had cut around and even Gardner had been tempted to leave. But, he decided to stick around, if for no other reason than the fact he thought Allen at least deserved the chance to make things work.

At the moment, he knew she was about to face a major test, the one that could make or break her. Gardner didn't envy being the one to have to tell her but it had to be done.

"I hate having to wear this." Gardner looked to the man walking next to him. General Jack O'Neil was fiddling with the collar of his dress uniform. Indeed, it didn't seem to suit him well. With his short gray hair and tight face, one could tell this was a soldier more suited to the field than behind a desk. He also didn't seem happy with his current surroundings.

"This is the White House, General," Gardner stated. "You can't go prancing around in fatigues."

"I don't prance," O'Neil replied as they made their way to the Oval Office. He fiddled with his tie again before pausing to fix Gardner with a cool look. "Okay, lay it on me. How is she going to take it?"

Gardner let out a long breath. "I don't know. I honestly don't. I know Bridges got on board fast and Allen is already surprisingly good with the military. Still, this is something so huge…"

O'Neil brushed a hand through his hair. "I still say you should have gotten Hammond. He's done this before, he can handle it."

"You're the one in charge now," Gardner noted. "It's your responsibility."

"I hate responsibility," O'Neil muttered. "I never wanted this, you know. I was perfectly happy fishing in retirement but no…"

Gardner ignored him as he knocked on the door and then entered. "Madam, your appointment is here."

Despite all the preparation, Jack O'Neil was thrown at the sight of a woman behind the desk of the Oval Office. President Mackenzie Allen was a strikingly beautiful woman in her late forties with dark brunette hair and a ring of pearls. She was wearing a dark red dress that offset her well. Sitting before the table was her husband, Rod Calloway, a confused look on his face as he looked to Gardner.

"Appointment?" Allen asked. "I don't remember any other appointments tonight, Jim."

"This is off the books, Madam President," Gardner stated as he fully entered. He nodded to O'Neill. "This is General Jack O'Neil." The man made a salute.

"At ease, General," Allen said as she removed her glasses. "Jim, I've had a long day as it is, and I had no idea there was another appointment."

"As I said, Madam, this is off the books." Gardner paused and looked to the First Gentleman. "Rod, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Why?" he immediately asked.

"What I'm about to say is for the President's ears only," Gardner said.

"He can stay, Jim," Allen stated.

Gardner shook his head. "Madame, as far as I know, no other President has shared what I'm about to tell you with their spouses."

Allen made a light smile. "Well, Jim, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not like every other President."

O'Neil had to smirk a bit at that. Allen and Rod both noticed it and shared a glance. Gardner took a deep breath. "Madame, I have to say once more…"

"He is staying," Allen said in a harder voice. "Now, let's get this over with so I can get to dinner with my family."

Gardner slowly nodded and then moved to shut the door and lock it. "Ma'am, what I'm about to tell you is pretty much the single most classified piece of information on the planet. Aside from a few members of the highest ranks of the military and some senators, no one else in the government knows about this. And that's the way it has to be. You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Not Kelly, not the VP, not even your family." He threw a look at Rod with those words.

The First Gentleman raised an eyebrow. "Getting a little melodramatic on us, Jim. What is this about?"

Gardner turned to O'Neil who moved forward. "Ms. President…" He stopped and frowned. "Is that okay? Never had to use it before."

Allen smiled. "Madam President is fine."

O'Neil nodded as he opened his briefcase and pulled out a large folder. "Madam President, I'm gonna cut down to it." He opened the file and threw down a large photo. Allen and Rod leaned in to see an image of what looked like a gigantic ring in some sort of hanger, covered in bizarre symbols. "Madam President," O'Neill started. "That is the Stargate. It's an alien artifact found in Giza in 1928. It was transferred to the United States and moved to Cheyenne Mountain. It took seventy years to figure out how to work the damn thing but once we did, we found it could create a wormhole that could instantly transport someone to another planet, as far as the other side of the known universe."

The reaction was pretty much as he expected. Both Allen and Rod stared at him open-mouthed and wide-eyed. Realizing they weren't going to be speaking any time soon, O'Neil plowed on. "Well, the Stargates were built by some ancient race God knows how many thousands of years ago. It's an entire network going across the universe, each at a planet suitable for human life. They've been used by these guys." He threw down a series of photos of men in women in various odd dress. Everything from Egyptian-like clothing to Oriental-like robes.

"These are normal humans, descendents of people kidnapped from Earth centuries ago and used to settle various planets," O'Neil went on. "Now, what sets them apart is this…" He threw down a photo of a hideous worm-like creature in a glass jar.

"What in God's name is that?" Rod gasped.

"That, sir, is a Goa'uld," O'Neil answered. "An alien parasite that takes over a human host, giving them enhanced strength, knowledge and oh yeah, glowing eyes and a weird echo to their voice."

O'Neill shuffled through the files. "So, the Goa'uld set themselves up as gods to the people of these worlds to use them as slave labor while fighting each other for power. They also use some humans as Jaffa." He put down anther photo, this showing some dark-armored men with strange embalms on their foreheads. "They're the footsoldiers who believe these guys are gods and are willing to die for them. They even carry an infant symboite inside them until it matures."

Allen was staring at the photos in shock as O'Neil went on. "We sort of stumbled on them and the entire Stargate network by accident and that got their attention. So for the last decade, we've been running teams through the Stargates to explore, find info on the Goa'uld and get what allies we can. We have gotten some help from the Tok'ra. They're a bunch of Goa'uld who don't buy the whole 'we are gods, hear us roar' thing."

He finally paused and looked to Gardner. "Did I leave anything out?"

"The Asgard?" the Chief of Staff dryly noted.

"Oh, yeah, right, thanks!" O'Neil turned back to Allen. "Well, you know all those gray alien guys they've been talking about for years? Turns out they're the Asgard, a big alien race who have been fighting the Goa'uld for a while. Well, when they're not fighting a race of replicating spider things, that is."

He put the file on the desk. "So, that's the basic gist. Any questions?"

The First Couple simply stared at him dumfounded. Mackenzie shook her head slowly and focused her gaze at Gardner. "Jim…is this some sort of joke?"

Gardner shook his head. "That was my reaction too, Madam President. But it's for real."

Allen's face grew hard. "And why is this the first time I've heard about this?"

Gardner took a breath. "Madam…."

"Jim, I've been VP for two years and Bridges never said one word of this to me!"

"Truman had no idea the atomic bomb existed before Roosevelt died," Gardner pointed out. "As I said before, Madam President, this is ultra-top secret."

"Who else knows?" Rod asked, still looking through the photos. "I mean…do any other nations know about the…Stargate?"

"The Russians found one a few years ago," O'Neil said. "England, China and France were brought in a couple of years after that."

"That's all?" Allen demanded. "You've kept this closed off from the U.N.? From the other powers?"

"Yeah, this is exactly the sort of thing we want to broadcast to other governments," O'Neil sarcastically said. "The more people who know, the more chance the public gets wind of this and I don't have to tell you what kind of problems that will cause."

Allen rose up from her seat and O'Neil was thrown to see she was almost as tall as he was. She turned to the window looking out and shaking her head. "I can't believe this…"

Rod was shaking his head. "Let me get this straight. A bunch of alien worms kidnapped humans thousands of years ago, transported them to other planets via these Gate things, one of which is in a mountain in Colorado and we have a secret program to combat them, aided by these gray alien guys?"

O'Neil paused. "Well, sure, when you put it that way, it all sounds ridiculous."

Allen paced before the window. "Is this…is this a military operation or science-based?"

"A bit of both," O'Neil answered. "SG-1, that's the main team, has an astrophysicist and an archeologist on board. There's also Teal'c, he was a Jaffa who turned on the Goa'uld to help us. He's been organizing some rebel Jaffa for the last few years."

Allen rubbed her forehead. "What I mean is…are you using this thing to explore or just try to find stuff that can help the military?"

O'Neil paused to consider his answer, biting back his usual sarcasm. "Ma'am, we do try to help other cultures as well we can and yeah, we do study their technology but only with permission. The file has a list of the stuff we've been working on, a lot of which can help pioneer medical research like cancer cures and alternate fuel sources."

Allen faced him, her face sober. "General, you wanted to cut to it, so fine. How much has this been costing the country since it opened?"

O'Neil bit his lip. "The regular budget is about seven billion a year. Add in creating technology for the ships…"

"Ships?" Rod blurted. "Wait a minute…are you telling me…we…the United States…have spaceships?"

O'Neil smirked. "Yeah, pretty cool ones. I still want to call one the Enterprise but I keep getting outvoted."

"So we're spending billions of dollars a year so the military can increase their private weapons stock, is that it?" Allen said in a cold tone.

O'Neil turned to her, his smile vanishing. "Twenty-two."

Allen blinked. "I'm sorry?"

O'Neil nodded to the file. "Inside, you'll find twenty-two instances where Earth was almost attacked by the Goa'uld or another alien race and the SGC were responsible for saving it. I think a few billion is a pretty cheap price to save every man, woman and child on this planet, don't you, Madam President?"

Allen was a bit taken aback as she realized O'Neil was dead serious about this. "The whole planet?" she asked. "You've saved the whole planet."

O'Neil frowned. "You don't have to sound so shocked at that…"

Allen pursed her lips. "I just find it hard to believe it's so altruistic."

O'Neil sighed. "Well, there has been a group called the NID that's wanted to use it for their own ends. The usual big power brokers and such. We've tried to deal with them but never gotten concrete evidence as to who's in charge."

"What do they want?" Rod asked.

O'Neil shrugged. "Depends on whoever's in charge. Sometimes, they want to get rid of the Gate, bury our heads in the sand and hope the Goa'uld leave us alone. Other times, they want to take the fight to them by any means necessary, even if it means stealing from allies and wiping out innocents in the process."

Allen looked at him, then to Gardner. "Who else in our government knows?"

"Most of the Joint Chiefs," The Chief of Staff replied. "A couple of the highest ranking Congressmen in charge of the budget issues."

"Templeton?"

Gardner shook his head and Mac let out a sigh of relief. O'Neil had his hands behind his back as he spoke. "We try to keep it as quiet as possible. Let's face it, Ma'am, the public isn't ready to know there are aliens with the ability to take over human bodies attacking us on an almost regular basis."

Allen frowned. "I don't know about that…" She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just trying to wrap my head around this."

"I know it's hard to accept, Madam President," Gardner broke in. "I wanted to tell you earlier but thought it best to wait until you had a Vice-President installed and….well…"

Allen gazed at him with a cool look. "And you were sure I'd be sticking around for a while."

Gardner looked down at his feet without replying. Allen nodded, not too surprised. She brushed back her hair as she headed back to her desk. "I…I need to look over this and…" She shook her head as she sat down. "General, I'm probably going to have a hundred questions for you later but for now…"

"Understood, Ma'am," O'Neil said as he saluted. He paused. "Permission to speak freely, Ma'am?"

Allen couldn't resist a smile. "You don't strike me as the kind of person who asks for that often, General."

O'Neil licked his lips. "Ma'am…this is important. It is. To this planet, to our race, to the universe itself. The people there believe in what they're doing and so do I. I know it sounds crazy and you'll have people telling you it's easier to end it and bury the thing back in the desert. But the Goa'uld are out there and they're not going to stop coming unless we do something to stop them. Your predecessors understood that. I'm hoping you do too. Because if you don't, you're going to pay for it and your children and their children and everyone else on the planet. And the only consolation won't be that you won't go down in history as the woman responsible for the end of the human race because there won't be any human left to record it."

Allen stared at him for a long moment before the corners of her lips turned up a bit. "You spent all morning practicing that in the mirror."

"Did it come off too over the top? I'm not a big speechmaker."

Allen nodded. "I can tell." She took a deep breath. "Are you staying in Washington?"

"Got to get to the Pentagon for some business," O'Neil confirmed.

"I'll call you later about this," Allen said. "Dismissed."

O'Neil saluted and turned to head out. A long silence came over the Oval Office as the First Couple took in what had just happened.

"Jim, please say this is some sort of elaborate joke for new Presidents," Rod half-pleaded.

"If only I could," Gardner stated.

Allen lifted up the large file and began to flip through it. "I want to bring Keaton in on this."

Gardner frowned. "The Vice President is usually among those out of the loop."

"He handles more military aspects than I do," Allen replied. "He should know about this."

"Your decision, ma'am," Gardner said. "Anything else you need?"

Allen rubbed her face. "Relay a message to my kids. Let them know dinner is going to be a little late tonight."

Gardner nodded as he walked out of the office.

Mackenzie Allen gazed at her husband. "How you feeling?"

Rod was flipping through photographs of the technology captured from the Goa'uld. "It's….God, I can't believe this…any of it…"

Allen leaned back in her chair and rubbed her face. "Here I thought I'd be able to be one President who kept this country out of war. Now I find out the whole planet has been involved in one for years."

Rod shook his head. "This is…a lot, Mac. I mean, a whole lot, even bigger than I thought or imagined…"

Allen stared at the ceiling. "Should I keep it open?"

Rod shrugged. "I think we need to read more about it before we can decide that. Offhand, if O'Neil's right and that's the only defense we have…"

Allen leaned forward. "So all I have to do is explain away the odd occurrence and keep this out of the media. Wonderful."

Rod sighed and reached forward to rub his wife's shoulder. "We'll handle this."

"I hope so," Allen replied softly as she gazed around. For the first time, the weight of the office was truly pushing down on her, more than she thought it would.

The husband and wife sat there for the next few hours, reading the amazing story of the SGC as both realized that being the President may open up new doors…but sometimes they led to rooms no one should ever explore.


	2. Author's notes

Cic Meets SGC Notes

I have to admit, I'm surprised and pleased by the number of reviews this tale was getting. I had hoped it would get interest but am most happy that so many people connected with it.

Now, yes, I admit, I know O'Neill has more than one 'l' in it. No idea how that happened, maybe spell-check messed up. I spelled it right in my earlier SG-1 tale "Maternal Reunion" (shameless plug) and will try to fix it in the future.

I hadn't really thought of doing more of this. I thought it'd be fun to show how Allen would react to the news about the Stargate and that was that. However, the reaction is making me think of more with it like VP Keaton reacting to finding out and maybe Allen having to deal with one of those global crises the SGC get into, the ones she can't tell any of her advisors about.

I had thought of Templeton being involved with the NID but it seems a bit too easy and cliché to have him be with those bad guys. Besides, I sort of like the irony that Templeton, the master manipulator, has no idea of what goes on with the Stargate.

So I do hope to be able to do more with this soon. Not sure about Allen visiting the SGC itself but it is an idea. Thank you all very much for all the comments, good and bad, keep them coming and hopefully there will be more to comment on soon.


	3. Chapter 2

CiC meets SGC

By Michael Weyer

**Well, hadn't expected to continue but the reviews were so much, I thought I'd add on to it a bit. All comments are welcomed. **

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Warren Keaton, Vice President of the United States, put down the large file. He looked up, his expression mixing shock and disbelief. "This…is for real, isn't it?"

James Gardner nodded. "I'm afraid it is."

Keaton rose and walked across his office to a side cabinet. He opened it up to pull out a large glass and a bottle of brandy. "Mr. Vice President, it's two in the afternoon," the White House Chief of Staff pointed out.

Keaton shook his head. "Jim, you just told me that we own a device that can travel to alien planets and we've been at war for years with a powerful alien race. I think some alcohol is called for."

Gardner was quiet before smiling softly. "Bridges and I almost emptied a whole bottle together when we were told about it."

Keaton poured the drink and downed it quickly. He licked his lips and shook his head. "This is just incredible…How the hell have you managed to keep this secret?"

"There have been some close calls," Gardner admitted. "But the checks and balances were set up before we came along. Hopefully, they'll keep going."

Keaton nodded as he put the bottle away. "Why didn't the President brief me on this herself?"

"She's busy today," Gardner stated.

"Oh, right," Keaton replied. "The meeting with that group in Colorado."

"Actually, that's a cover story," Gardner replied.

Keaton frowned before he got it. "She's going there?"

Gardner nodded. "She wanted to see it for herself. It was a surprise to me too but she insisted."

"Who's with her?"

"The First Gentleman and some Secret Service who have already been there with Bridges. And Kelly."

Keaton raised his eyebrows. "You're sending the White House Press Secretary to the most classified place in the country?"

Gardner held up his hands. "She shouldn't know but she was supposed to accompany the President on this trip and it would be too complicated to keep her out of the loop."

Keaton nodded. "So, I'm expected to keep this a secret from everyone?"

"Yes," Gardner confirmed. "I know it's not going to be easy but it has to be done."

Keaton let out a low whistle. "And here I've been spending two years regretting losing the election. If I had known about this…"

"Bridges said the same thing," Gardner stated. "And I highly suspect the President feels the same way."

Keaton sat down at his desk. "I hope she can handle this bunch at this Stargate mountain."

Gardner couldn't help smiling. "Actually, I was thinking they might have to handle her."

Keaton thought about it and nodded. "You're right."

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Kelly Ludlow wouldn't call herself the stereotype of a blonde. One didn't become the White House Press Secretary if they didn't have intelligence. Her looks no doubt helped but she was smart and fast and had gotten the respect of the cynical White House press corps with the way she handled things.

However, it had taken her the better part of a half hour to realize they were not taking an extremely long detour but rather weren't heading to the Cheyenne Women's League.

She licked her lips as she faced her long-time boss. "Ah, Madam President…where are we going?"

Allen was dressed in a dark blue suit as professional looking as possible. She was next to Rod, who was dressed in a dark navy suit of his own. Allen was flipping through some papers before her. "This is why I was reluctant to let you come along, Kelly."

Kelly frowned. "What do you mean?"

Allen sighed. "We're going to a military base at Cheyenne Mountain."

"NORAD?" Kelly shook her head. "Why would you want that kept so secret?"

Allen paused and then handed a file to her press secretary. Rod was turning to open a small cabinet at the side of the limo. Kelly opened the file and gazed at the information. She flipped through the papers and photos as her eyes widened more and more and her face went slack. She slowly looked up, her jaw open. "I…this…this can't be…"

Rod leaned forward to offer a glass of alcohol. "Here. This helps."

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General Hank Landry had been through a lot in his time as CMO of Stargate Command. However, this was his first visit from the Commander-in-Chief and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

It was partly due to the entire idea of meeting the President. But it was also because of who that President was. Although he considered himself a forward-thinking man, Landry still found it a bit off that a woman was commanding the entire United States military. He knew most of the "old guard" of the Pentagon were grumbling over taking orders from a female, especially one who had never been in the military. Landry supposed he'd be in the same boat if it weren't for the fact that running a gateway to other planets gave one a much more open mind.

He was in his best dress uniform, doing his best not to openly fuss with it. He gazed at the others around the table to make sure they were ready. Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell were both in their own dress uniforms. Daniel Jackson was wearing his best (if hastily ironed) suit and Teal'c was clad in a pair of dark jeans and shirt with his usual somber expression.

"All right, they're coming down," he announced to the others. "I need everyone on best behavior for this."

Mitchell frowned as he saw the glances in his direction. "What? She's already met O'Neill. That should prepare her for anything."

"He has a good point," Daniel said.

Landry sighed. "People. This is the first visit by the first female President, I want to make sure it goes well."

"We shall endeavor our best, General Landry," Teal'c intoned.

Landry nodded, knowing he could at least count on the Jaffa. Teal'c was always more ready to behave than others. It no doubt came from the fact he wasn't human.

There was a knock and everyone rose from the table as a soldier opened it. A pair of men in dark suits entered first to give a cursory look. Then President Mackenzie Allen walked in before the First Gentleman and a rather stunned looking Press Secretary.

"Madam President," Landry said, saluting. "I'm General Hank Landry, commanding officer of Stargate Command."

"At ease, General," Allen replied as she offered her hand. Landry shook it and motioned to the table. "Madam, this is SG-1, our top team. This is Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, the field leader."

"Ma'am," Mitchell said as he shook the President's hand.

"And," Landry continued. "Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter. She's been instrumental in the science aspect of the operation."

"Madam President, it's an honor," Carter said as she shook the other woman's hand.

Landry nodded to Daniel. "Dr. Daniel Jackson, who helped crack how to use the Gate in the first place."

Daniel made a nervous smile as he shook her hand. "Easy there," Allen said with a warm smile of her own. She turned her gaze to the large black-skinned man behind the table. "And finally," Landry intoned. "This is Teal'c."

The man bowed his head respectively. "A pleasure to meet you, President Allen."

Allen did her best to hide her nervousness at shaking hands with a man from another planet. "Nice to meet you as well…Teal'c," she carefully pronounced.

She nodded to the people behind her. "This is my husband, Rod Calloway." Rod began to shake hands as Allen motioned to the woman beside him. "And my Press Secretary, Kelly Ludlow."

Kelly's eyes were fixed on the emblem on Teal'c's forehead and barely registered the President's words. Allen gave an apologetic smile. "She just found out in the limo."

Mitchell nodded. "Understood."

Everyone sat down as Allen turned toward the large window looking out into the Gate room. "So that's it," she murmured.

Landry nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Looks different up close," Rod intoned.

"That's a common reaction, sir," Landry stated.

Allen shook her head. "It's still a lot to take in."

"I know it is, Madam President," Landry stated. "We are happy about your visit, I have to say."

"Well, it has to be one of those 'I'm not really here' type of deals," Allen pointed out.

Landry smiled. "Don't worry, ma'am, your predecessors had plenty of those."

Allen nodded. "I'd like to say that, having read the files, I am very grateful to all of you for all you've done not just for this country but for the world. I only wish we could let the world know about it."

"So, we're not getting outed?" Mitchell dryly asked.

"I think the world still isn't quite ready to learn what kind of role we play in the universe," Allen replied. "Kelly can back me up to how the press would go nuts over this. Right, Kelly?"

She looked over to Kelly who was still staring dumbly at Teal'c's forehead. The Jaffa simply returned her look with the tiniest hint of a smile. "Kelly," Allen softly said, resisting the urge to nudge her.

Kelly blinked. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry, I, um, I…" She licked her lips, realizing the irony of someone in her position being at a loss for words.

"It takes some getting used to," Daniel told her in a reassuring voice.

"I'll take your word for it," Kelly softly replied.

Carter smiled. "As I said, it is good to meet you, ma'am."

"Thank you," Allen replied. "I take it you voted for me?"

Carter looked down. "Ah, actually, we were off-world at the time and it was a pretty hectic mission. I…never got a chance."

Allen glanced at Mitchell, who looked up as if trying to avoid the question. "I shouldn't even ask, should I?"

"That's usually a safe course of action with him," Daniel interjected.

Allen nodded as she looked to Landry. "General, I'm also going to want to discuss the Atlantis base."

"Atlantis?" Kelly suddenly piped up. 'Um, you mean, ah…the real Atlantis?"

"What do you think?" Rod asked her.

"I think I wish I'd brought that bottle with me from the limo," Kelly muttered.

Landry looked back to Allen. "So, Madam President, if you'd like, we can begin with a tour of the facilities and then we can------"

A loud alarm began to blare over the loudspeakers. Instinctively, the Secret Service agents moved around the President. SG-1 were on alert as well as a voice echoed. "Off-world activation."

Allen's attention was caught by a large metallic sheath closing over the Stargate. The symbols on the wheel were rotating quickly as a pack of soldiers rushed into the Gate room, rifles ready.

Landry was already moving, the rest of SG-1 behind him. Allen rose to follow, her bodyguards trailing behind her along with Rod. Kelly, not believing this was happening, rose to quickly follow.

Landry entered the command room and spoke. "Report."

"We're waiting for the recognition code," the technician replied as the Gate kept moving.

Allen looked to Landry. "General, is this some sort of demonstration on my behalf?"

The General shook his head. "No, Madam President, it's not."

The technician checked the information on his screen. "Sir, the code is…SG-1."

Landry glanced at the team, who seemed as startled as he was. He paused and nodded. "Open the iris."

The technician hit some commands the metallic sheath opened up. The final chevron locked in and with a blast, the Stargate came alive. Despite the briefings, Allen was unable to keep her jaw from dropping open at the sight of it up close. Kelly's eyes bugged out, Rod's close to hers and even the Secret Service agents seemed thrown.

The liquid gate shimmered until a figure stepped through. She was a strikingly beautiful woman with long black hair, clad in a black suit that accented ever curve of her shapely body. She had a mischievous smile on her face as she calmly strode down the ramp.

"Oh, joy," Mitchell intoned as Daniel let out a long groan. "It's Daniel's girlfriend."

Allen frowned as the team moved away to the stairs leading to the Gate room. She followed with her agents, leaving Rod and Kelly staring as the Stargate switched off.

The woman broadly grinned as she saw the team enter. "Ah, I love how you people are always ready to celebrate my arrival!"

"Vala, what are you doing here?" Daniel bit out.

The woman frowned. "What? I can't come by to see you again?" She sauntered forward, moving to Daniel, who appeared less than thrilled by her approach. "I at least expected a hello kiss."

"General, who is this?" Allen asked.

"This is Vala," Landry answered. "She's a…" He paused, trying to think of the right way to put it.

"Thief."

"Con artist."

"Impersonator of deities."

"Former Goa'uld host."

Landry nodded, satisfied that SG-1 had answered for him. "She has been a source of…aid to us from time to time."

Vala looked Allen over. "And who might you be?"

"Mackenzie Allen. President of the United States."

Vala's eyebrows rose high. "A female in charge of the biggest nation on this planet?" She smiled at Daniel. "My estimation of you people has just gone up a few notches."

"Vala, what are you doing here?" Daniel repeated, a little more intense this time.

The woman shrugged. "Well, partly the desire to spend hours upon hours in bed with you mixing together our sweaty bodies…"

Daniel grinded his teeth together as Mitchell and Carter did their bests to stifle smiles.

"But," the alien woman went on. "I also think that you might want to know that a renegade Goa'uld is planning on launching an attack that could cause quite a bit of death and destruction to your planet. Oh, and it'll be sometime within the next seventy-two hours."

She walked by them all, heading to the hallways. "Which way is that mess hall of yours? I am famished!"

They all watched her go as Mitchell leaned in toward Daniel. "For twenty bucks, I'll shoot her in the kneecaps."

Daniel shook his head with a tired expression. "No. Anything that much fun, I'd want to do myself."

Allen stared at each of them and the thought crossed her mind. _THIS is what's saving this planet?_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Hope you enjoyed this one. I know some might question where this falls into Stargate timeline. My best guess is assume we go a bit AU after "Beachhead" with Vala getting a message to SG-1 about her survival earlier. Keep all the comments coming and I hope to update soon. **


	4. Chapter 3

CiC Meets SGC

By Michael Weyer

It didn't take MacKenzie Allen long to realize that one had to take every word Vala Mal Doran said with more than a little grain of salt. The woman was sitting at the meeting room of the SGC. Actually, she was more lounging, hanging back in her chair, one leg draped over an armrest, obviously posing for the men around.

"All right, Vala," Daniel began. "What is this about really?"

The woman brushed back her hair. "You know, you can make a woman a lot more open if you buy her a drink first, Daniel."

Daniel ground his teeth together as Mitchell hid a smile. "Come on, Vala, fess up."

"Oh, all right," she sighed as she swung her legs over and leaned forward. "As you may be aware, being a former Goa'uld host has its advantages. One of the top ones is that not that many Goa'uld are aware of the 'former' part. Just add a little voice modulator and you're able to get some information."

"Such as the location of certain, ah, storehouses or other places System Lords place their valuables?" Daniel theorized.

"A girl has to make a living," Vala smiled. "Well, in the course of one such…investigation, I came across information about some former System Lord readying a strike on Earth."

"Who is it?" Landry demanded.

"No one's really sure," Vala replied. "He wears a mask of some sort. He is making waves by the fact he calls himself Ra'mae."

That got the attention of the people around the table except for Allen, who just frowned. "Why is that important?"

"Ra was the System Lord we first encountered the very first time we used the Gate," Daniel told her. "He based himself on the Egyptian god of the sun. O'Neill ended up killing him."

"How?" Rod asked.

"He, ah, teleported a nuclear device onto Ra's ship," Daniel said.

Rod smiled. "I see he doesn't go half-way."

"What's this Ra'mae been doing?" Landry pressed.

"Apparently, building up some of the Jaffa forces left behind from various System Lords," Vala answered. She gave Teal'c a slight smile. "I hate to say it, but not all of your brethren are ready to turn atheist."

Teal'c just gave her his standard stern look as Allen spoke up. "What do you know about this…force he has?"

Vala sighed, sobering a bit. "Three full cruisers headed to Earth at top speed. All loaded with Jaffa ready to die for their new Lord. They're coming hard and fast and this Ra'mae doesn't care about the Asgard or the Ori or anyone else. I don't know why but he hates this planet and wants it burned."

"Ah, one minute," Kelly piped up, holding up a hand. "You're telling me that we've got a…an alien fleet rushing toward us? Shouldn't we warn people?"

"That'll create too much of a panic," Landry said.

"General, we've got a trio of alien ships headed at us! You think that won't be noticed by anyone?"

"Not like it's the first time," Mitchell said. Kelly just stared bug-eyed at him, not able to accept his words.

Allen was silent for a moment before turning her head to Landy. "General…what are our options here?"

Landy tapped the table. "The _Prometheus_ can be ready for a defensive route within six hours. Our other ships are too far away."

"What's its armament?"

"It can stand against maybe one ship and gliders. But three…" Landry sighed. "It could be tough."

"Should we raise the Defcon alert?"

"That might raise too many alarms," Landry warned.

Rod frowned. "What about Russia, China and Europe?"

"We'll inform them of the threat," Landry stated. "But when it comes to alien threats, the SGC is the first line and it's still under American control."

Allen nodded. "All right." She turned to Vala. "Any idea how long we have?"

The woman shrugged. "Could be a few days, could be a few hours. It depends on how fast they have the engines designed."

There was a cough and Allen turned to see the head Secret Service agent coming forward. "Madam President, we should be getting you back to Air Force One now. It's better if you're at the White House."

"I think it's better if I stay here," Allen intoned.

"Madam President," the man intoned, his voice turning more serious. "Your protection…"

"If the strike's in a few hours and we're in the air," Allen interrupted. "I think I'm a lot worse off. This is a heavily fortified facility and could stand up to what's coming. And I want to make sure we can handle this situation."

"Ma'am, I think you better listen to your agents," Landry stated.

Allen looked around with both eyebrows raised. "Is it really necessary to remind all of you that I'm the Commander-in-Chief? Which means I have the final word. And the word is that I'm staying here."

Rod held up a hand as Landry opened his mouth. "General, save it. When she has that look in her eye, there's no stopping her. Trust me on that."

Allen rose up from her chair. "I want a full listing of the capabilities these aliens have, I want to talk to the Joint Chiefs over options, Kelly get on the horn to Jim and tell him I need him to coordinate from there. Oh and Rod? Call my mom and tell her not to worry." With that, she walked out of the room, her agents behind her.

Mitchell looked at Rod and smiled. "Now I wish I'd voted for her."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mackenzie Allen would be the first to admit that science wasn't her best field and theoretical physics was completely beyond her. So she had no idea what half the items in Carter's lab were for. Even as Carter explained them, Allen wasn't quite sure what she was hearing.

"We've been working on some new subspace detectors just in case such an attack came," Carter announced as she worked at a computer station. She had taken off her uniform jacket and tie and was working on the data in front of her. "They're still in the testing phase but if I modify their output, I can manage to boost the signal range and ensure they can spread out and hit the right hyperspace spectrum to find the ships before they get in range…"

She trailed off as she looked up at Allen and saw the blankness in her eyes. "Ah…you're not understanding a word of this, are you?"

Allen shook her head. "No, sorry."

Carter nodded. "It's okay. It can be rather technical."

Allen looked around. "I have to say, I am very impressed by your work, Carter. It's something of an achievement to have done so much for this facility."

"Thank you, ma'am," Carter said with obvious happiness. "That really means a lot coming from you." She rose from her desk to check on another computer screen. "I have to say, ma'am, there were quite a few women around the base who were more than a little pleased to finally see a woman as President."

Allen was used to such comments from various women she'd met. She was also aware that not every woman felt that way. Some still stuck to party lines and didn't like seeing an independent in office while others just didn't feel she in particular was the right woman in the role. She still managed a smile and nod at Carter. "Well, I can assure you, Colonel, the army isn't the only place where a woman has to fight twice as hard to show she can do the job."

Carter's rare smile was cut off as a loud alarm began to blare. The Secret Service agent at the doorway was instantly alert as a voice cut over the loudspeaker. "SG-1 to the command center!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So," Vala was saying a minute earlier as she fixed a gaze at Rod across the briefing table. "This marriage to the President…is it one of those, ah, open ones?"

Rod gazed at her blankly before looking to Daniel. "Is she serious?"

"It's better not to ask," Daniel dryly intoned. "It's much more soothing for your mental health."

Vala put a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Daniel, don't be that way. You know I'll still hold a place in my heart for you. And I'm sure I know a part of your anatomy you have reserved for me."

Daniel looked pleadingly at Rod. "If she touches you, will that give the Secret Service cause to shoot her?"

Kelly entered the briefing room and Rod looked up to see a concerned look on her face. "What is it?"

Kelly sighed. "It seems the Secretary of Transportation just decided to resign over allegations of bribery in his office. The press is looking for a statement and I don't know how long it'll take them to figure out the President isn't at some lunch club."

Rod was quiet before speaking. "Funny. That just seems so trivial right now."

"Amazing how fast your perspective changes around here," Mitchell noted.

The loud alarm got their attention and they were on their feet. Landry entered the office as well as the lights flickered on and off. "What the hell is going on!" he yelled out.

"General!" a technician's voice came over the loudspeakers as Allen and Carter entered. "We're getting an incoming transmission through the Gate! It looks like a hologram relay, sir!"

"A common device used by System Lords in the past," Teal'c informed Allen before she could ask.

Landry was quiet before speaking. "Send it in."

There was a hum and everyone could feel a static charge in the air. Suddenly, the image of a figure appeared in the room, standing before Allen. He was tall, dressed in dark red armor with a ribbon device on his hand. His head was completely covered by a mesh mask with an opaque visor that hid any of his features. He gazed around the room before speaking in the booming tone of a Goa'uld. "Who is in charge here?"

Landry cleared his throat but before he could speak, Allen stepped forward. "I am," she proudly stated. "Mackenzie Allen, President of the United States of America. And you must be Ra'mae."

The Goa'uld looked her up and down, his head moving a bit. "A woman in command?" He openly sniffed. "I had hoped it would be O'Neill."

There were several surprised looks on the faces of the SG-1 members, wondering what this man knew of them. Allen fought her surprise back as she spoke. "What is it you want?"

Ra'mae slowly turned his head and pointed at one person. "Her."

Vala looked behind her but saw no one there. She looked back and pointed at herself with a "me?" expression that looked more innocent than Daniel had ever seen her before.

Allen looked at her, then back at Ra'mae. "Ah…why her?"

"A strange question. Why would a husband not want his wife back?"

Every head automatically turned toward Vala. "Vala," Daniel said, sounding angered but somehow not all that surprised. "Is there something you left out of your little explanation?"

Vala shook her head. "No…no! I'm not married! Believe me, Daniel, you'd be the first to know!"

"Do not lie, Qetesh," Ra'mae hissed. "You are mine, now and forever."

Vala frowned. "Qetesh?"

Rod glanced at Teal'c. "Qetesh?"

"The Goa'uld Vala was host to," the Jaffa answered.

Vala shook her head again. "Now, wait, I know Qetesh and the only person she was ever married to was….was…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened in shock and fear as she muttered a curse in her own tongue.

"Yes," Ra'mae said as he reached up and began to pull off his helmet. "The time has come to do away with this pretense. It is only right you see my true face and once more call me by my true name…"

The mask came away to reveal a proud and handsome man of Egyptian descent, one eye glowing while the other was milky white. His features were marred by the metal plating that covered one side of his face.

Carter, Daniel and even Teal'c stared in absolute shock at the man. He seemed to enjoy the looks on their faces as he finished his statement.

"My true name…_**Apophis!**"_


	5. Chapter 4

CiC Meets SGC

By Michael Weyer

**Apologies for the long delay between updates, got distracted by other fics. Hope it's worth it. **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A long silence filled the room before Mitchell spoke. "How the hell many times do you have to kill this guy?"

Apophis turned his head to look to Teal'c, who actually appeared shocked. "So, Teal'c. It is I, your God, risen from the fires of the past."

"How?" Teal'c whispered. "Your ship…the Replicators…how could you survive?"

Apophis sniffed. "So I am to explain in detail my tale of survival? No. No, you are not worthy of hearing it. I survived because it is my destiny. I survived when others did not. I survived to take back what is mine." With that, he fixed his gaze of a very nervous Vala.

"Ah….I should point out that Quetesh and I parted ways a while ago," Vala stated. "So, I'm afraid you're, um, rather out of luck."

The Goa'uld sniffed. "That does not matter. We are still bound, as we were over a decade ago."

Daniel stared at Vala. "You were married to him!"

"No, Quetesh was," Vala quickly pointed out. "Look, it was all very political, merger of empires, consolidation of power, that sort of thing. Really, there was nothing more to it than that."

Apophis smiled. "I do not recall you saying that in our bed…"

"Okay, before we get to a branch of conversation that will have me seeing the base shrink for a month," Mitchell interrupted. "Are you saying you brought this whole fleet in just for her?"

Vala seemed insulted. "You don't have to make it sound so incredible."

Carter frowned. "But…you were also married to…" She trailed off as she saw Daniels' face.

Apophis raised an eyebrow over his metal plating. "You assume I cannot take more than one wife?"

"Well, looks like Utah will be spared," Mitchell muttered under his breath.

Apophis shrugged. "I am in need of a queen and who better than one who was with me before? Once I have finally crushed this pitiful world, I will make the galaxy tremble before the might of the one true System Lord. With the slave force of this planet…I shall be unstoppable."

"That won't happen."

Apophis turned his head to gaze at the woman. "And who are you to dictate to me?"

"Allen MacKenzie, President of the United States," Mac answered, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Apophis seemed more amused than impressed as he looked her up and down. "Hmmm…a woman in command? How interesting."

Allen bit her lip. "I will give you one chance to turn your forces away and leave this planet alone. Fail to comply and I will order the full might of our military to be brought against you."

Apophis gazed at her with what appeared to be true respect. "You I shall save. You would make a fine host."

Rod made a move forward but the others stopped him. Allen clenched her jaw as she glared at the hologram. The Goa'uld motioned to Vala. "Give her to me within the hour. Or suffer even worse destruction." The image wavered and then blinked to nothingness.

Daniel angrily turned to Vala. "Why the hell did you never mention this?"

"It was decades ago!" the woman argued. "It's not exactly the sort of thing that just pops up in idle conversation, you know! Besides, I knew the history you had with him and I was certainly not going to bring that up."

Kelly rubbed her temples. "You're telling me that this…this alien is going to invade Earth just to get his ex-wife back?"

"Technically," Vala piped up. "We're still married." At the looks she got, she continued. "Well, Quetesh was taken out of me while we were still married so…"

Daniel just raised his hands toward Mitchell. "Give me a gun. Give me a gun right now!" He looked to the Secret Service agents. "You, you can shoot her right?"

Once again the question flashed in Allen's mind. _THIS is what's saving this planet?_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Is there any way we can negotiate?" Allen asked. She was pacing the conference room with Landry sitting at the table. Facing her was a large viewscreen showing Keating and a few high-ranking members of the Joint Chiefs.

Landry coughed. "Ma'am, I know you're new at this but trust me, you cannot negotiate with the Goa'uld. We've learned that the hard way over the years."

"Is there any other help we can get?" Allen asked. "I understand we have that one ship but they have three."

Landry sighed. "Well, we've been trying to contact the Asgard but no luck. We're hoping they may be able to back us up."

Allen thought and turned to the screen. "General, what are our nuclear options?"

General Thompson sighed. "It'll be difficult, Madam President. It's not just programming the trajectories. We know they have advanced shielding that may be able to stand up to multiple strikes. Plus, there's the fact that setting off several nukes is a hard thing to keep quiet."

Allen rubbed her temples. "I need to know the possible casualty count."

"Of a Goa'uld attack?" Thompson stated. He let out a long breath. "Ma'am, we're talking…the end of the world as we know it."

Allen stared off before speaking. "How long until the _Prometheus_ is in position?"

"Two hours," Landry answered.

Allen nodded. "Keep me posted," she headed out to the side room. "I need to talk to my husband."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Carter entered the ladies' room, feeling fatigued. She'd been in this situation many times before but it never got any easier. An oncoming alien invasion and the world being threatened tended to make her tired out. She just needed a few minutes to wash her face and she'd be fine.

As she entered, she heard a series of retching sounds and saw a pair of high heels sticking out of one of the toilets. "Hello?" she called out.

There was a flushing and Kelly slowly exited the toilet, rubbing her mouth. "Sorry," she rasped as she went to the sink to wash her mouth off. "I just…"

Carter smiled softly. "The first time I went through the Gate, I puked all over my boots, right in front of the entire unit."

Kelly spit out into the sink and wiped her face with a towel. "I wanted to call my mother. Then I realized there was no way I could make it without breaking down crying." She wiped at her eyes. "I just…it's so much. This morning, I had a perfect grasp of everything but now…"

Carter nodded. "More than you expected?"

Kelly checked her reflection. "The first week in the White House, Gardner told me 'If the American people knew what really went on behind their backs, they'd burn down Washington.' I thought he was just exaggerating."

Carter patted her shoulder. "We've been through worse than this."

"Really?" Kelly seemed surprised. "You really have?"

Carter nodded. "Oh yes. I have such stories about this place…"

Kelly blew her nose. "I can't…it's just a lot. How do you deal?"

Carter smiled. "I've met about a dozen different versions of myself from as many alternate realities. I've also met doubles of myself who were robots. And then of course, I was taken as the host for a Tok'ra, which has left me with some interesting abilities. And don't get me started on time travel."

Kelly just stared at her blankly. "I'm better off just figuring you made that all up, right?"

"Probably," Carter admitted.

Kelly brushed her hair back. "No one is ever going to believe this. No one."

"That usually helps," Carter said with a light smile. "Come on, let's get back to the command center."

Kelly followed, trying to smooth out her skirt and realizing her eventual memoirs were going to be very, very interesting.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rod frowned as he saw the suited man standing outside a small room. "Is my wife in there?" he asked.

The agent nodded. "She wanted to be left alone, sir."

Rod fixed him with a cool look. "I'm going in there."

"Sir…"

"I'm going in." Rod pushed him aside to enter the room. "Mac? Mac, are you…"

He stopped as he saw Allen sitting on the small cot inside the room, her head in her hands, bending over and heaving for breath. Rod shut the door quickly before the agent could see it. He had to admit, it had been quite a while since he had seen Mac like this but he couldn't say he was surprised. The trouble with keeping oneself so strong and together was that eventually, it had to come out at once.

He came over to rub her shoulder. "Mac…"

She took a deep breath as she rose, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry, it's just…It's more than I expected."

"Mac, you're dealing with something you were never trained for," Rod stated. "It's natural that it'd overwhelm you."

"I didn't want it to," Allen said as she began to pace. "It was one thing to hear about alien life and invasions but having to actually deal with one firsthand…"

"Mac, you're able to handle this."

Allen faced him. "You think so?"

Rod smiled as he came to give her a hug. "I know so. You can do damn well anything, you've proved that. You'll handle this. We'll get through this. I know we will."

Allen smiled as she kissed him lightly. "Thanks. I needed that." She took a deep breath and Rod could see her assuming the demeanor of the President of the United States. "Don't tell anyone?"

"You have to ask?"

There was a knock and the agent stuck his head in. "Ma'am, they need you in the main command center. Something seems to have happened."

Nodding, Allen strode out, once more cool and confident, Rod following. He glanced at the agent. "You, ah, didn't happen to hear…"

The agent simply stared back. "Sir, I'm sworn to protect the President. Not just her life but also her image. I don't hear what I don't have to hear."

Rod smiled and gave him a thankful pat on the shoulder before following his wife.


	6. Author's notes 2

I know, I've gotten notes asking about this. Sorry, been tied up with my online column at (cheap plug!) and other fics. I also admit, I was a bit bummed after Commander in Chief got the axe from ABC and hard to get back into it. But I am going to be working back on it, I promise. Going to be out of town for the 4th of July but I will do my best to get back on track and I hope it'll be worth the wait. Thanks and keep the great reviews coming.

6/30/06


	7. Chapter 7

CiC Meets SGC

By Michael Weyer

**Apologies again for the long delay between updates. Hope this makes up for it. **

Mac strode into the command center, all business. "What's our status?" she asked without preamble.

Landry motioned to a screen. "The _Prometheus_ is inbound, ready to make visual contact, Madame President. We hope we'll be able to get a better read on the situation there."

Allen nodded as she walked around the room. "How will we handle the situation if it comes down to a battle?"

"We have our strategies," Landry said in a cool tone.

Allen raised an eyebrow. "And would these…strategies…be recognizable to rest of the Armed Forces?"

Landry shrugged. "With respect, Madame, we fight battles they've never been trained for. For the Goa'uld, we've had to pretty much learn on the fly."

"In other words, you're inventing a new kind of combat," Allen observed. "Well, that's notable."

She tapped her fingers on the table and fought the urge to openly pace. "Has Vala given us any new information?"

Landry sighed. "With Vala, it's often hard to get a straight answer at all. She's also been a bit reluctant to share anything on Aphosis."

Allen nodded. "I need to make this clear, General. I am aware of the secrecy issue and I agree with it. But if it comes down to keeping this planet safe and letting the world know about the Stargate and aliens, I'm leaning toward the former. So if I have to tell every world leader to get whatever forces they have together, I will do it."

Landry had to be impressed by her resolve and how she seemed calm despite the circumstances. "I understand, Madame President but we've managed to keep it secret for a while yet."

Allen rubbed her chin. "You ever realize what an opportunity this presents, General?"

Landry frowned. "Ma'am?"

Allen motioned around. "This Gate, this place. It's all proof that we're not alone in the universe. Do you realize what this might mean if the world knew the truth? If they knew we faced common threats as well as common opportunities, it might be the thing to bring us together."

"Or tear us further apart," Landry stated. "Ma'am, I know you want to think the best of people but my job requires me to think the worst. Mass panic would ensue if people knew an alien fleet was on its way to destroy us. We'd also have to deal with the fallout politically and culturally. You've seen how crazy people can be with intelligent design, try telling them there's life on other planets. There'll be cults opening up around the world that will want to truly worship the Goa'uld. And I don't even want to think of the mess Congress would make of this."

Allen let out a long sigh. "I suppose you're right. Maybe we're just not ready for this yet."

"Not yet," Landry agreed. "But I hope we get to that point soon." The phone on his desk rang and he quickly picked it up. "Yes?" Listening, he nodded. "On screen then." He hung up and looked to Allen. "We have a broadcast from the _Prometheus_."

Allen turned as the signal came on. It took a moment for her to absorb that she was seeing a crystal clear shot from outer space. It took another to see the trio of pyramid-shaped ships and the dozens of fighters that were making their way toward the camera. Allen bit her lip to keep a gasp from bursting out at the sight.

Sitting nearby, Rod let out an "Oh, God." Landry was tight-lipped as if this was normal for him. Then again, Allen supposed it was.

"SGC," a crackling voice came over the loudspeaker. "We have visual of the fleet. Orders?"

"Maintain watch for now," Landry ordered. "Do not fire unless fired upon." Landry reached over to touch another button on the intercom. "Carter, any progress with that defensive system?"

"Our timetable is still 12 hours until it's workable, sir."

"We may not have 12 minutes, Carter. Make it fast." He hit another button. "Daniel, get Vala up here, hog tie her if you have to."

"I'd rather not, sir."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid she'll actually like it."

"Just do your best, Dr. Jackson." He clicked it off and looked back at Allen. "The _Prometheus _can take the first shot whenever you order it, Madame President."

"Not until they're fired upon," Allen quickly said. "I don't want to be the one who starts this."

Kelly entered the room, her eyes facing the screen and her face going pale. "Oh my God."

Allen glanced at her. "Kelly, maybe you should go."

Swallowing, Kelly shook her head. "No. No. I…I need to stay." She somehow forced a weak smile. "Things go wrong…gotta have first hand knowledge to tell people. Right?" Allen gave her a smile back, only hers was more reassuring.

She watched as the fleet continued its path toward Earth, trying her utmost to suppress the fear that clutched at her heart. She and Rod exchanged a quick glance, each thinking of their children, in Washington with no idea what was coming. The Secret Service was keeping them at the White House, but they thought it was just a regular watch. They didn't know how much time they'd have when the shooting started to get them to safety. Even if they did, against a Goa'uld fleet, there was little chance any safety would be enough.

"The fleet is heading toward us," the captain of the _Prometheus_ said. "We estimate four minutes until contact."

"General, is there any other help we can give them?" Allen quickly asked.

Landry shook his head. "Not at the moment, Madme President."

The first wave of fighters were sweeping toward the _Prometheus_. It appeared they were only yards away when it was really miles. On the one hand, it was terrifying but Allen also couldn't help be fascinated at the fact she was about to witness a war in space. Behind her, she could hear Kelly whispering a prayer under her breath. She glanced at Rod, wanting to hold him but this was a time the President had to take charge over the woman.

"Weapons are going hot, command," the ship's captain's voice broke in. "Awaiting to fire back."

Landry was about to open his mouth when a wide swath of bright light, almost totally white, suddenly blasted across the space between the ships. The Goa'uld fighters seemed to simply wink out of existence, there one minute, gone the next.

"What the hell!" Rod burst out.

There was a motion, as if the camera on the _Prometheus_ was shaking and a dark gray shape came overhead, situating itself between the ship and the fleet. The larger ships slowed down upon seeing it, the fighters swinging away.

"General?" Allen quickly demanded.

Landry seemed baffled too. "I don't know, ma'am."

There was a long pause as if the two ships were sizing each other up. Then, slowly but surely, the Goa'uld ships began to pull back. Before the amazed eyes of the humans, the pyramids turned and began to fly away.

"Ok," Kelly broke the silence. "What the hell just happened?"

"Just like the Cuban Missile Crisis," Allen intoned, her own voice a mixture of surprise and relief. "The other fellow just blinked."

There was a sudden flash of light and a figure appeared, calmly sitting in one of the chairs. Kelly couldn't help letting out a yelp as she saw what looked like a small gray-skinned, large-headed creature the size of a child. He glanced around and nodded toward Landy. "General Landy," it managed to speak despite having no mouth. "A pleasure to meet you at last."

The Secret Service agents behind Allen had pulled out their guns but Landry waved them back. "It's okay, it's okay!" He cleared his throat. "Madame President, allow me to introduce Thor."

The Asgard nodded to Allen. "President Allen. It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I am Thor of the Asgard."

Allen was doing her best to keep her eyes from going too wide. Reading about these beings was one thing but being in the actual presence of them was something far more dramatic. "Um..hello. I…is that your ship there?"

Thor nodded his large head. "Yes, it is. It was just completed and we were going on a…shakedown cruise I believe is the term…when we heard of what was happening."

"Heard from who?" Landry asked.

"General O'Neill," Thor answered. "Did he not tell you of our conversation?"

"Must have slipped his mind," Landry dryly answered.

"Yes, he does have that difficulty," Thor said, seeming not to notice the sarcasm. He turned to Allen. "While we of the Asgard are still recovering and rebuilding, we have not forgotten our alliance with the people of Earth. We have made it known to Apophis that we shall be ready to defend this planet to the best of our ability. I believe our message has gotten across."

"I'd say so," Allen agreed as she watched the Goa'uld ships vanish into the distance. She turned to Thor and let out a long sigh. "Thank you. I…thank you so much."

"It was our honor and pleasure," Thor intoned. "I look forward to us working together again in the future, President Allen." He nodded to Landry. "Give my best to Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson." With that, he vanished in a flash.

Rod blinked slowly as he looked to his wife. "Well, that was…interesting."

There was a rush of footsteps as Daniel burst in, dragging Vala behind him. "All right, we…" He paused as he saw everyone looking at the blank screen. "What's going on?"

"It appears the Asgard have taken care of things," Allen intoned.

"Thor says hi," Rod managed to say lightly.

"Thor was here?" Daniels' face fell. "Dammit."

"You wanted to see him?"

"No. I was hoping I could talk him into taking Vala away."

She glared at him. "You know, you're starting to give the impression you don't like my company, Daniel."

Daniel stared at her. "So smart and yet…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

SG-1 were lined up by the elevators as Allen and her party made their way out. She shook hands with each, giving them a good smile. "It was an honor to meet you all," she said. "I only wish the rest of the country can know of all the good you do. For now, be assured funding will continue and the Stargate has my full backing."

"Thank you, Madame President," Landry stated. "I hope your next visit won't be as dramatic."

Allen nodded. "You think we've seen the last of this Apophis?"

Carter shook her head. "He's been beaten back before and come back for more. He'll wait a while but now that we know he's out there, we can be more ready for him."

Allen smiled. "I'm sure you can handle it." With a final nod, she entered inside, the elevator doors closing.

As soon as she could, Kelly checked her cell phone, going through the long list of text messages. "We've got the Vice-President, every media outlet and a dozen people from the Hill all wondering where the President has been."

Allen let out a sigh. "You think you have problems? I have to convince my mother nothing weird happened."

"Honey, I think you can handle that," Rod said.

"I can't lie to her, Rod. You know that by now."

"True," her husband admitted.

Kelly licked her lips. "Um, ma'am? Do you mind if I took a sick day tomorrow?"

Allen and Rod stared at her in surprise. "Kelly, you never take sick days," Allen said. "Hell, you had the flu and you never took sick days!"

The blonde brushed her hair back. "Yes, I know but I plan on getting very, very drunk when I get home and I really don't perform well with a hangover."

Allen hid a smile. "Fine, you've got the day off." She put her hand in Rod's and sighed deeply. "The kids are going to be acting like it's normal, maybe even blowing us off. None of them aware we came within a heartbeat of never seeing them again."

Rod squeezed her hand. "This morning I was the master of all I surveyed. This evening, I went to bed knowing I was only one small voice in a great chorus. But it was a good day."

Allen looked impressed. "Who said that? Keats? Hemmingway? Shakespeare?"

"Old 'Star Trek' episode," Rod replied which made his wife laugh as they headed back to the suddenly sedate life of Washington.

**I know some might be annoyed it ended somewhat anti-climactically but consider all the CiC eps where big crises where defused before it got violent. Sorry it took so long to wrap this up but considering this was only going to be a one-chapter drabble, I had to do some planning. Thanks so much for all the great comments that helped this grow and I hope you enjoyed it very much. **


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